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Macro- and microplastics accumulation in natural and reforested mangroves and impact on associated macrobenthos at Matang, Malaysia

par Rosal, Ma.
Promoteur Dahdouh-Guebas, Farid
Co-Promoteur Cannicci, Stefano;Satyanarayana, Behara;Van Der Stocken, Tom
Publication Non publié, 2024-08-29

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Résumé :

Despite global concerns about the fate and impacts of plastic debris, studies related to plastic accumulation in coastal ecosystems like mangroves remain minimal. Mangroves may act as long-term sinks for plastic and sequester plastic efficiently. However, little is known about how plastic accumulation may vary between natural and replanted mangrove stands in relation to the age and nature of vegetation. Additionally, mangrove-associated biota such as crabs represent important (temporary) plastic sinks, but microplastic (< 5mm) accumulation by crabs depends on feeding guilds. Here, we focus on one of the world’s longest-managed mangrove forests, the Matang Mangrove Forest Reserve (MMFR) in Malaysia, to explore the distribution and composition of macroplastic pollution and thereby the ingestion of microplastics in selected brachyuran crab species as indicators of microplastic contamination. Macroplastic was composed mainly of packaging items and quantities ranged from 1.63 ± 0.23 items m-² near populated areas to 0.02 ± 0.01 items m-² in more remote locations. The number of microplastics per individual crab ranged from 0.82 ± 0.12 to 2.37 ± 0.05, with the highest concentrations observed in a replanted mangrove close to settlements and the lowest in another replanted mangrove distant from the population center.